Whist-board.



No. 638,602. Patented Dec. 5, I899.

c. SHUMAN.

WHIST BOARD.

11mm med May 2, 139a MMHH l@@@lwlwiw FQIQHIIHI @@llr*li1tll FIG 1.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CONSTANTINE SHUMAN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

WHlST-BOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 638,602, dated December 5, 1899- Application filed May 2,1898. Serial No. 679,499. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CONSTANTINE SHUMAN, a citizen of the United States,residin gin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in WVhist-Boards,.of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to construct a board for working out problems in the game of whist. This object I attain in the following manner, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a face View of my improved whist-board made in the form of a folding board or book. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detached view of one of the cards, and Fig. at is a view of a modification of the means ofholding the cards to the board.

In carrying out my invention I preferably make the board in two sections A A. Each section has a series of slots a, into which the cards are placed. One sectionAhas four divisions, representing the hands of the different players under the titles of North, South, East, and West. Each divisionhas thirteen or more slots, and in the present instance I have shown sixteen slots, so that the board can be used in working out problems in double pen uchle as well as whist. I divide the other half A of the board into five rows and indicate the first four rows by the letters N, E, S, and W., which represent the north, south, east, and west hands of the opposite portion A of the board. There are thirteen slots in each of these columns, and these slots are numbered by a row of numbers at the side, as shown in the drawings, and at one side of the vertical columns is an extra column, in which are placed the cards which take the tricks as played, leaving blank spaces in that particular row representing the hand holding the cards that took the tricks.

In working out a certain problem the cards are placed in the slots in the portion A of the board distributed under the letters N., S., E, and W., representing the several hands. The game is then ready to be worked outwith clubs, forinstance, as trump. If North should lead the deuce of diamonds, the card is removed from the slot in the north section and placed in the north column on the first line. East follows with a six of diamonds. Then South follows with the tray of trump, and VVest.follows with a tray of diamonds. \Vhen the cards are placed under their respective headings in the first row, the card that takes the trickthat is, the tray of trumpis removed from the third column and placed in the end column,indicating that the tray of trump took the first trick, and the blank space indicates that South took the trick. This is continued throughout the game, placingat the end of each trick the card that took the trick from the column indicating the hand and placing it in the column indicating the cards taking the tricks, and the spaces left after the game is completed will indicate how many tricks have been taken by the several hands. For instance, in the drawings I have shown a game partially completed, being the commencement of the seventh trick. The board indicates clearly that North has taken two tricks, East one trick, South two tricks, and West one trick, showing that one pair of partners have taken four tricks and the other pair of partners have taken two tricks.

After the game has been worked out the cards can either remain in the board A or be replaced in the board A under therespective headings to indicate a new hand.

It will be readily seen that by the use of my improved board various whist problems can'be worked out on the board, which can be carried in the pocket and which will indicate clearly the progress of the game at every step.

It will be understood. that my improved board can be made in any shape and either in a single board or folded, so as to make it compact and to protect the cards.

While I have shown a boardprovided with slots, into which the elongated port-ion of the card extends, so as to retain the card in position, I may substitute for the slots a button and clasp, as indicated in Fig. 4, and the cards may be made either out of celluloid, pasteboard, metal, or any other material, depending altogether upon the quality of the board.

When the retainers are made as shown in Fig. 4c, the boards may have spring-pockets b and the card a projection 71, adapted to be inserted in the pocket and clasped thereby, and in this case I prefer to make the cards entirely of metal, the same as a button, and indicate the denomination of the card by stamping or by enaineling. Other means of securing the cards to the board may be used.

It will be understood that While I have represented the cards by letters and numbers I may make representations on a small scale of the entire cards, and this may be carried out particularly in connection with the modification shown in Fig. 4. y

In some instances I may dispense with the extra column in which the cards that take the tricks are placed; but I prefer in all cases to use this extra column.

I claim as my invention 1. A whist-board made in two sections, one section having four divisions adapted to hold the cards of the different bands, the other section having four columns indicating the several hands and in which the cards are arranged as each trick is played, substantially as described.

2. A whist-board made in two sections, one section having four divisions adapted to contain the cards of the several hands, the other section having five columns adapted-to receive the cards, four of these columns representing the several hands as played, the fifth column adapted to receive the card that takes each trick, leaving a blank space in the column from which the card is removed, the said blank space indicating the hand that took the trick, substantially as described.

3. A whist-board made in two sections, one section having four divisions adapted to receive the cards of the several hands, the other section having five columns, four adapted to by cross-lines, the spaces in said columns be- 7 ing numbered to indicate the tricks, substan= tially as described.

4:. A whist-board made in two sections, one section divided into four parts, each part hav-- ing thirteen or more separate holders for the cards, the other section having five columns with thirteen holders in each column, substantially as described.

5. A whist-board made in two sections, one section divided into four divisions, each division having thirteen or more slots formed in the board for the reception of the individual cards, the other section having at least four columns with thirteen slots in each column formed in the section adapted to receive the cards, as played, substantially as described.

6. A whist-board having four divisions of thirteen slots each adapted to hold cards of the different hands before the same are played, and thirteen divisions of four slots each in which the cards are arranged as each trick is played, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OONSTANTINE SHUMAN. lVitnesses:

WILL A. BARR, J os. H. KLEIN. 

